Media player apps seemingly unable to start playback at bluetooth connect

[mbert]

Having just switched back to iPhone (after several years with Android) I was surprised that when my device connects to a bluetooth output device (like headset or car stereo) playback does not start automatically.

Interestingly in the net there's a lot of people not liking this and complaining about automatic playback - so why does it not work for me?

I do like this behaviour, in particular in my car: car stereo gets switched on when starting the engine, bluetooth connect takes a few seconds, and the last thing I want to do now while the engine is already running is grab and unlock my phone, open the Music app and manually start playback.

In Music the behaviour seems pretty much built in, at least I have not found a setting for this. Since I find the app rather unintuitive I checked out a couple of alternatives from the app store and ended up purchasing jetAudio which reminded me a bit of Poweramp which I had got used to on Android. Nice app, good sound, and a setting for automatic playback at bluetooth and/or headphone connect. Tried it, it worked, voila.

However it has turned out that this feature does not work reliably. And it looks to me like rather than the app the OS is the culprit here. Automatic playback works in some situations: I have the app already open, and having started (and stopped) playback some time before, the play control is displayed on the lock screen. If the phone is unlocked and the app in the foreground it seems like automatic playback usually works. If the phone is locked (but the play controls displayed on the lock screen) it sometimes work. In other cases it doesn't.

Now could it be that some recent iOS upgrade broke this functionality somehow? Because it seems like it used to work. Any hints? Thoughts?

 

[Slartibart]

I do like this behaviour, in particular in my car: car stereo gets switched on when starting the engine, bluetooth connect takes a few seconds, and the last thing I want to do now while the engine is already running is grab and unlock my phone, open the Music app and manually start playback.

Doesn’t contribute to your overall question, but: in the above scenario you could tell Siri to continue the music. At least you don’t have to fiddle with the phone while driving.

 

[mbert]

in the above scenario you could tell Siri to continue the music. At least you don’t have to fiddle with the phone while driving.

Yes, I have thought about that, too. Problem is, I am a bit old-fashioned. I don't like voice assistants, and talking to them - in particular in the presence of others - feels funny.

One thing - still exploring my device - I have found is the control center. This simplifies things quite a bit. But still I wonder why the auto play does not work properly, neither in Music.app nor in jetAudio.

 

[NoBoMac]

However it has turned out that this feature does not work reliably. And it looks to me like rather than the app the OS is the culprit here. Automatic playback works in some situations: I have the app already open, and having started (and stopped) playback some time before, the play control is displayed on the lock screen.

Yup. Only time I get auto-play is if I'm already playing something, and it's been like that for ages iirc.

Typical example is if I switch my headphones from iPad back to iPhone, or turned on BT audio device after shower and phone's been idle/not connected to anything, no auto-play.

Only time I get auto-play is when I plug into the car's head unit, and that is annoying in that it might start the Music app vs the podcast app I was using prior to getting into the car (blaming it on poor auto software that is not CarPlay).

 

[mbert]

Yup. Only time I get auto-play is if I'm already playing something, and it's been like that for ages iirc.

That's no good news, as it seems to imply there won't be a quick fix. And if others have had this, too, it indeed seems to be something in the OS. Not good.

 

[Slartibart]

Yup. Only time I get auto-play is if I'm already playing something, and it's been like that for ages iirc.

Should the expectation be that if nothing is playing and you connect, that iOS/iPadOS starts playing? I wasn’t expecting that.

If I am listening to some music and my iPhone connects automatically to my car, yep, it continues playing. If the iPhone isn’t playing something, it connects, and thankfully everything continues in silence. 🤓
Disclaimer: I only listen to “local” music, not using Apple Podcasts, no streaming.

 

[mbert]

Should the expectation be that if nothing is playing and you connect, that iOS/iPadOS starts playing? I wasn’t expecting that.

Actually I was. Because that's the behaviour I have known from my Blackberries before. Also the app kind of promises this: "Auto Start (Bluetooth)".

If I am listening to some music and my iPhone connects automatically to my car, yep, it continues playing. If the iPhone isn’t playing something, it connects, and thankfully everything continues in silence. 🤓

Actually continuing playing works. And this would probably be a workaround in the car helping me to avoid grabbing my phone when the engine is running. However I definitely prefer "Auto Start", because, when I connect a head set, in 90% of cases I simply want to continue listening to the playlist last active on my music player app. In the remaining 10% (e.g. i want to talk to somebody or listen to an audio book) I would simply paus playback and pick whatever I want.

This is something I have got quite used to with my previous (Android) phones.